Police arrest 5 people after college student falls from 8th Floor, dies on the spot

A woman died after falling from the eighth floor of a building in Gacharage village, Kiambu County, according to police.

Five people who were with the deceased woman, named as Catherine Njeri, at the time of the unfortunate incident are being questioned by detectives.

She attended the Kenya Institute of Management.

Last Sunday, she went to her friend’s place for a party before disaster struck while she was on the rooftop with the friend’s partner.

The accused are being kept at Karuri Police Station until detectives conduct further investigations.

The suspects, who are her friends, were hauled to court and police were allowed to keep them for ten days while an investigation was conducted.

“The police have initiated a probe into the circumstances surrounding Catherine Njeri’s death.”

“The suspects will provide statements and cooperate fully with our detectives to help uncover the truth,” Kiambaa Deputy County Commissioner Peter Maina told the media on Tuesday.

The tenants of the building recounted the moment when they heard a loud bang that drew their attention.

“We rushed out to see what was happening, and we were shocked to see it was a woman’s body,” said one tenant.

The body was moved to Kihara Level 4 Hospital mortuary, where a detailed autopsy will be conducted.

Witnesses said the deceased was visiting her friends and they were about eight of them in that apartment.

At around 9:30 pm, Njeri left the house in the company of her friend’s boyfriend and went to the rooftop where there is a pavilion.

She had apparently gone to the balcony with a man and a struggle ensued while there before she fell off.

The other tenants rushed to the house and woke up those who were there and they appeared unaware she had fallen and died.

It is not clear what transpired as she was on the balcony leading to the fall.

This is the latest such incident to happen in the recent past.

In February 2023, a 29-year-old woman, identified as Brenda Kawira Gitonga, plunged to her death from the fourth floor of her apartment in Kasarani.

The incident happened after the woman had an argument with her boyfriend, who has since provided a chilling account of the events of that day.

According to the boyfriend, the deceased suddenly stormed the room and went to the balcony.

Only later, he says, he realised that her girlfriend had fallen to her death.

The case was regarded as suicide.